Balochistan is an arid, partly desert-like and mountainous region that extends from the east of Persia to southern Afghanistan, all the way to southwestern Pakistan. Inhabited by Baloch, Mengal, Brahui, etc.
The present, typical Balochistan necklace from a woman’s costume is very elaborately crafted. It consists of a choker made of silver, cast and engraved. The round ends are bent over and display rosettes made of silver hemispheres. The flat centre of the necklace displays a middle point with a delineated plane with geometrical decorations made of silver, round silver platelets, granulated rosettes with blue glass pearls and, in the centre, a green glass stone. To the left and right of the central plane, the flat necklace is engraved with alternating geometrical decorations on the front and back.
Between the upper ends of the necklace hangs a row of round pendants made of white metal, set with blue and green glass stones, on two plaited silver chains. Soldered along the lower edge of the flat necklace is a series of eyelets for the decorative coins hanging underneath. On the eyelets hang ‘S’-shaped pendants partly alternating with silver spheres. On the ‘S’-partitions hang two rows of decorative, round pendants, outlined on the outside with small, silver granulated pearls and covered in the centre with green, red, yellow and blue set glass stones.
The two lower rows of flat pendants actually consist of wrought silver coins: The central coin in the upper row is British (Queen Victoria) and displays a carnelian on the front with an engraved inscription in Arabic script (a seal). Otherwise the upper row consists of Persian silver with the year 1360 according to the Persian calendar (=1941). The two low rows of pendants consist of Ottoman Turk silver with the year 1306, according to the Ottoman calendar (=1888). With the embossed ‘tughra’, the ‘seal’ of Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876–1909). Both rows of pendants are connected by a silver chain and additionally display small red and blue glass pearls, as well as teardrop-shaped glass pearls on a silver chain and pendants that terminate in small silver spheres. Only minor losses. Created after 1941 (embossed date on the Persian coins). L: c. 30 cm, W: c. 25 cm, DM: c. 16 x 16 cm (choker). Weight: 780 g. (ME)